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Richmond Free Press © 2021 Paradigm Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
VOL. 30 NO. 21
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
www.richmondfreepress.com
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Joye hits the sweet spot B2
n E lectiog e Cove ra
MAY 20-22, 2021
Long road to glory City’s own basketball legends Ben Wallace and Bobby Dandridge to be enshrined in Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame By Fred Jeter
Richmond and the CIAA will be in the house Sept. 11 when basketball legends Ben Wallace and Bobby Dandridge are inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “Ben has reached the top of the top,” said Dave Robbins, who was Wallace’s coach at Virginia Union University before Wallace, now 46, signed on with the NBA in 1996. “It’s great to see someone rise to that level.” Native Richmonder Bobby Dandridge, now 73, starred at Maggie L. Walker High School under Coach Stretch Gardner and at Norfolk State University before launching his distinguished NBA career in 1969. Wallace and Dandridge will share the stage with 14 other Hall of Fame inductees this fall at formal ceremonies in
Springfield, Mass. They also will join an elite handful of former CIAA players who have been enshrined in the Hall of Fame — Earl Lloyd (West Virginia State University), Sam Jones (North Carolina Central University), Al Attles (North Carolina A&T State University) and Earl Monroe (Winston-Salem State University). According to the CIAA, Wallace is the first undrafted player and first VUU player to be selected for the Naismith Hall of Fame. Both Wallace and Dandridge are in the CIAA Hall of Fame, with Wallace inducted in 2015 and Dandridge in 1984. Dandridge grew up in Richmond’s West End. His oldest friends called him “Bismarck” because of his long feet. He later earned the tag “Greyhound” for his swift, fluid stride. Playing at NSU from 1965 to 1969, he won All-Conference, All-Tournament and Tournament MVP honors during his senior
season while averaging 32.8 points per game. During his junior season, he helped lead the Spartans to the CIAA championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. He is among the CIAA’s all-time leading scorers with 1,740 points. The 45th overall pick in the 1969 NBA draft, Dandridge averaged 18 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists during his 12-year career and was considered an excellent defender. He played on two NBA championship teams – the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971 and the Washington Bullets in 1978. Dandridge was a four-time NBA All-Star and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1970 and the NBA All-Defensive Team in 1979. Dandridge’s selection to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame came a day later than Wallace’s and was made Please turn to A4
School Board adopts budget, changes school opening times and snubs City Council By Ronald E. Carrington and Jeremy M. Lazarus
Despite pressure from City Hall and the community, as well as division among members, the Richmond School Board is moving ahead with plans to control development and construction of a replacement for the decaying, 60-year-old George Wythe High School in South Side. The board made that plain Monday in unanimously approving a record general fund budget for 2021-22 of $347.5 million — the equivalent of $14,479 for each of the 24,000 students, or about $700 more per student than the current $331.16 million budget provides.
Mayor Stoney
Mr. Kamras
The total $16 million in new funds includes an unexpected $5 million increase in state funds, but apparently does not include any of the potential $122 million RPS is projected to receive this year from the federal American Rescue Plan.
Parents weigh COVID-19 vaccination for their children By George Copeland Jr.
Sandra Sellars/Richmond Free Press
Mommy and me time Emmie Aslan, 3, sits with her mother, Joli Aslan, while they enjoy the music of the Desiree Roots Jazz Trio at last Saturday’s outdoor concert at The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen. Please see more photos, B2.
Kiara Gresham has been busy with the demands of her new small business, Cookie Jar Honeypot, and the need to ensure the education, health and well-being of her children during the pandemic and a virtual school year With summer getting closer and the new school year months away, Ms. Gresham is taking on a new task: Learning all she can about vaccinating her two older children, Queron, 14, and Kaeoni, 12, against
COVID-19. “It’s one of those things where it’s like, I know it has to be done, but it’s still kind of scary,” said Ms. Gresham, a single mother, as she sat in a booth among other vendors last Saturday at Ms. Girlee’s Kitchen in the East End. The event was held by Richmond Public Schools to talk with parents about school reopening and the resources they need. The discussion with a reporter turned to
The statue of Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill appears to be on its way to removal, along with his gravesite over which the statue towers at Laburnum Avenue and Hermitage Road in North Side. Next Tuesday, May 25, the city’s Commission of Architectural Review, or CAR, will take a first look at City Hall’s plans to remove the last city-
owned statue of a slavery defender. The cost to take down the statue and disassemble the gravesite is estimated at $34,000, according to the information to be presented to CAR. The plan is to take the statue down and remove the 45 connected stones that form the pedestal base. Also to be removed is the sarcophagus containing Gen. Hill’s remains, which will be done in coordination with the state Department
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Free COVID-19 testing
of Historic Resources. The work could take three days, the report to CAR indicates. CAR also is to consider proposals for the removal of the pedestals on Monument Avenue, atop Libbie Hill and in Monroe Park where statues honoring Confederates previously stood. The detailed information includes proposals for
Free community testing for COVID-19 continues. The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations: • Thursday, May 20, 2 to 4 p.m., Eastern Henrico Health Department, 1400 N. Laburnum Ave., Eastern Henrico. Drive-thru testing. • Thursday, May 27, 10 a.m. to noon, Diversity Thrift, 1407 Sherwood Ave. in North Side. • Thursday, May 27, 2 to 4 p.m., Eastern Henrico Health Department, 1400 N. Laburnum Ave., Eastern Henrico. Drive-thru testing. Appointments are encouraged by calling the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 Hotline at (804) 205-3501 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or by registering online at https:// bit.ly/RHHDCOVID. Testing will be offered while test supplies last. The Virginia Department of Health also has a list of COVID-19 testing
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Plans move forward to remove Confederate Gen. A.P. Hill monument and tomb By Jeremy M. Lazarus
It provides a 3 percent pay increase for teachers and staff, authorizes the hiring of 18 teachers to beef up remedial services in math and reading and expands the corps of teachers serving Spanishspeaking students. Dr. Newbille The approved budget plan also gives the green light to restarting the school system’s construction division, with $500,000 to hire three new staff to take on school building, including a new 2,000-seat George Wythe. The plan rebuffs pleas from the mayor and City Council members to leave construction up to City Hall. The budget vote came during a meeting that went six hours and included a 5-4 vote to authorize Superintendent Jason Kamras’ controversial plan to essentially flip the start times of preschool and el-